WAR  SERVICE 
OF  THE 

AMERICAN  LIBRARY 
ASSOCIATION 

AAA 

BOOKS  FOR  THE  MEN 
IN  CAMP  & OVERSEAS 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/warserviceofamer00koch_0 


A CORNER  OF  A.  L.  A.  WAR  SERVICE  HEADQUARTERS 


WAR  SERVICE 


OF  THE 


AMERICAN  LIBRARY 
ASSOCIATION 


Described  By 

THEODORE  WESLEY  KOCH 
Chief,  Order  Division,  Library  of  Congress 


A.  L.  A.  WAR  SERVICE 
Library  of  Congress 
Washington,  D.  C. 

1918 


Full  Permission  to  Reprint 
is  Given  to  the  Press 


Second  Edition,  April,  1918 
L.  C.  Printed  Card,  18-26256 


PRESS  OF  JUDD  & DETWEILER,  INC. 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


Foreword 


ord  Bacon’s  dictum,  “Reading  Maketh  a 
Full  Man,”  is  illustrated  daily  and 
hourly  in  the  lives  of  our  soldiers  and 
sailors  now  in  the  service.  The  men  fre- 
quent by  hundreds  the  various  library 
centres.  Tired,  homesick  and  perhaps 
discouraged,  they  there  associate  for  a 
time  with  buoyant,  optimistic  spirits, 
well-stored  minds,  constructive  thoughts,  and  come  out  refreshed, 
filled  with  a new  hope,  and  heartened  to  carry  through  their  im- 
mediate task. 

In  the  doing  of  this  work  the  American  Library  Associa- 
tion has  rendered  an  invaluable  service.  Books  as  tools,  as  store- 
houses of  knowledge  and  inspiration,  are  being  made  known  to 
thousands  who  until  this  time  were  unacquainted  with  this  means 
of  culture  and  inspiration.  The  use  of  the  leisure  hour  makes 
possible  not  only  a profitable  recreation,  but,  under  direction, 
becomes  the  basis  for  enlarged  usefulness. 

It  is  not  enough  that  good  books  be  at  hand  for  the  use  of  the 
men.  These  books  must  be  wisely  selected,  and  the  reading  of 
them  should  be  wisely  directed.  To  meet  this  condition  reading 
courses  have  been,  and  are  being  prepared,  enabling  the  soldiers 
and  sailors  to  work  to  some  purpose,  mastering  one  topic  before 
passing  to  another.  This  plan  will  also  result  in  the  reading  of 
texts,  which  without  direction  might  be  left  on  the  shelves 
unused,  save  by  a select  few. 


The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  buildings  distributed  over  the  camps,  are 
used  as  library  centres.  Each  Camp  Librarian  may  consider 
as  his  co-worker  the  entire  staff  of  the  Young  Men’s  Christian 
Association,  particularly  the  Camp  Educational  Secretary  and 
the  Building  Educational  Secretaries.  They  will  respond  to 
suggestions  of  courses  of  study,  special  texts  or  special  library 
arrangements  in  the  local  buildings.  The  librarian  in  turn  will 
welcome  requests  for  books  and  magazines,  and  will  secure  those 
not  at  hand.  The  principle  of  cooperation  between  the  American 
Library  Association  and  the  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association, 
as  well  as  between  all  other  organizations,  will  be  consistently 
maintained. 

William  O.  Easton, 

Associate  Director. 


Educational  Bureau,  National  War  Work 
Council  of  the  Young  Men’s  Christian 
Association  of  the  United  States. 


v« 


C/> 

O 

o 

_Q 


OJ 


3 

o 

S 

o 

s 


ctf 

f-> 

-O 


-C 

H 


A TYPICAL  CAMP  LIBRARY 


INTERIOR  OF  LIBRARY,  CAMP  SHERIDAN 


The  War  Service 

of  the 

Library  Association 

he  social  side  of  the  Great  War  presents 
some  new  topics  which  certainly  were 
not  prominent  in  previous  conflicts.  One 
of  these  is  the  provision  of  food  for  the 
minds  of  the  fighting  men.  Previous  wars 
had  shown  us  how  to  equip  and  admin- 
ister commissary  departments  and  can- 
teens, but  they  taught  us  little  of  present- 
day  value  as  to  what  the  men  now  called  to  the  colors  would  need 
in  the  way  of  literary  or  intellectual  equipment. 

Mr.  J.  S.  Lockwood,  a Civil  War  veteran,  says  that  he  can  re- 
call no  incident  of  books  being  available  to  the  soldiers  of  the 
’60’s  with  the  exception  of  the  few  which  were  sent  to  hospitals 
in  or  near  Washington  and  in  a few  of  the  Northern  cities.  The 
men  relied  almost  entirely  on  Harper’s  and  Frank  Leslie’s 
Weekly ; but  in  addition  to  these  magazines  they  longed  for  in- 
teresting books  to  read.  Major  George  Haven  Putnam  in  a 
recent  address  in  New  York  City  said  that  two  English  gram- 
mars were  eagerly  read  and  passed  along  among  the  men  shut  up 
in  Libby  prison. 

More  fortunate  were  the  Connecticut  regiments,  where  libraries 
were  a part  of  the  regimental  equipment.  These  libraries  by 
July,  1862,  numbered  1284  volumes  and  5450  magazines,  shelved 
and  locked  in  strong  portable  cases  with  a written  catalogue  and 
proper  regimental  labels.  The  books  were  on  a great  variety  of 
subjects  and  were  of  good  quality.  They  were  in  charge  of 
Professor  Francis  Wayland  who  purchased  some  250  of  the  latest 
books  so  as  to  make  sure  of  having  up-to-date  material  in  the 
collection. 

“It  is  the  most  convenient  thing  imaginable,”  wrote  Chaplain 
Hall  of  the  Tenth  Connecticut  Volunteers.  “I  have  constructed 


American 


5 


A.  L.  A.  WAR  SERVICE 


a long  writing-desk,  on  which  I place  all  the  papers  which  you 
so  kindly  furnish  me;  at  the  end  of  the  desk  is  my  library  of 
books.  You  will  always  find  from  ten  to  fifty  men  in  the  tent, 
reading  and  writing.  The  library  is  just  the  thing  needed.  The 
books  are  well  assorted,  and  entertaining.” 

‘‘The  nicely-selected  stock  was  gone  in  two  hours  after  I had 
opened  the  box,”  wrote  Chaplain  Morris  of  the  Eighth  Connec- 
ticut Volunteers.  “Since  that  time,  the  delivery  and  return  of 
books  has  occupied  several  hours  a day.  Dickens  has  a great 
run.  The  tales  of  Miss  Edgeworth  and  T.  S.  Arthur  are  very 
popular.  The  Army  and  Navy  Melodies  are  hailed  with  delight, 
and  ‘the  boys’  are  singing  right  merrily  almost  every  night.  Day 
before  yesterday,  I received  a box  of  pamphlets  from  the  Com- 
mission. There  were  half  a dozen  men  ready  to  open  the  box, 
and  twenty  more  at  hand  to  superintend  the  process  and  share 
the  contents.  The  demand  for  reading  is  four  times  the  supply.” 

But  the  methods  of  warfare  have  been  revolutionized  and 
more  is  expected  of  the  soldiers  of  today  than  of  their  fathers. 
Innumerable  technical  subjects  must  be  studied;  highly  special- 
ized branches  must  be  mastered.  Books  must  be  within  reach. 
Not  only  do  the  students  in  khaki  call  for  more  than  did  the  old 
soldiers  in  blue  and  gray,  but  more  is  demanded  of  them  in 
return. 

“The  training  camp  of  today  is  not  essentially  different  from 
a big  university,”  Mr.  Raymond  B.  Fosdick  tells  us.  “The  fel- 
lows work  and  study  a good  deal  harder  in  the  training  camps 
than  they  would  in  a university.  This  war  is  a highly  specialized 
affair.  It’s  a modern  science  which  the  men  must  learn  by 
studious  application  to  the  problems  of  drill  and  trench.  They 
acquire  the  habit  of  study,  of  application,  in  the  training  camp 
of  today.” 

A camp  librarian  recently  told  me  a story  that  bears  out  the 
comparison  and  contrast  between  a camp  and  a university.  A 
young  reserve  officer  on  returning  a book  to  the  camp  library 
remarked  that  it  was  the  first  book  he  had  read  in  four  years. 
When  asked  what  he  had  been  doing  in  that  period,  he  replied: 
“Going  to  the  University  of  Mississippi.” 


6 


WAR  SERVICE  LIBRARIES 


Life  in  the  camps  and  cantonments  lacks  many  of  the  pleasures 
or  diversions  to  which  the  average  new-coming  soldier  has  been 
accustomed.  To  a great  extent  the  cantonments  are  isolated, 
and  sometimes  far  distant  from  the  home  states  of  the  troops 
there  assembled.  To  take  away  some  of  the  dreariness  of  this 
isolation,  varied  provision  has  been  made  for  the  leisure  hours 
of  the  boys  in  khaki.  A novel  and  effective  effort  along  this  line 
has  been  the  establishment  of  the  American  Library  Association 
Camp  Libraries. 

Upon  the  entrance  of  the  United  States  into  the  war,  the  presi- 
dent of  the  A.  L.  A.  appointed  a War  Service  Committee  which 
made  its  first  report  at  the  annual  conference  of  the  Library 
Association  at  Louisville  in  June.  The  committee  was  at  that 
time  further  organized  and  its  work  formulated.  Sub-committees 
on  finance,  publicity,  and  book  collecting  (among  others)  were 
appointed. 

On  learning  of  these  plans,  the  Commission  on  Training  Camp 
Activities  by  an  unanimous  vote  invited  the  A.  L.  A.  to  assume 
the  responsibility  for  providing  adequate  library  facilities  in  the 
camps  and  cantonments.  It  seemed  natural  to  ask  the  Associa- 
tion to  handle  this  problem  for  the  government  because  as  an 
organization  it  could  call  to  its  services  the  necessary  trained  help. 

The  Secretary  of  War  having  appointed  ten  nationally  known 
men  and  women  as  a Library  War  Council  to  aid  in  an  appeal 
for  funds,  it  was  decided  to  raise  by  private  subscription  a million 
dollars  with  which  to  carry  on  the  work.  It  was  felt  that  this 
was  the  least  amount  for  which  the  needed  buildings  could  be 
erected,  equipped  and  administered,  the  soldiers  supplied  at  the 
front,  in  the  field,  in  cantonments  and  training  camps,  and  on 
board  the  troop  ships. 

The  financial  campaign  was  successful  in  raising  the  money 
asked  for — and  half  as  much  again.  A campaign  for  books  was 
conducted  at  the  same  time  as  the  campaign  for  funds,  result- 
ing in  the  receipt  of  over  200,000  volumes  for  immediate  service. 
These  were  collected  at  central  points  and  delivered,  either  at 
the  camps  or  at  designated  depots  for  transportation  abroad. 


7 


A.  L.  A.  WAR  SERVICE 


It  was  planned  to  use  the  funds  largely  for  books  of  a serious 
nature,  as  it  was  anticipated  that  the  lighter  books  would  be 
largely  supplied  by  gift.  The  campaign  for  books  was  to  con- 
tinue as  long  as  the  war  lasted,  as  would  also  the  need  for  funds 
if  the  war  were  to  last  as  long  as  some  people  predict.  The 
Carnegie  Corporation  made  a grant  of  $10,000  for  each  of  the 
proposed  thirty-two  camp  libraries,  and  a similar  sum  was  re- 
ceived from  another  source  for  a library  building  at  the  Great 
Lakes  Naval  Training  Station. 


Administration  and  Personnel 

In  October,  at  the  request  of  the  War  Service  Committee  of 
the  American  Library  Association,  Dr.  Herbert  Putnam,  Libra- 
rian of  Congress,  took  over  the  direction  and  control  of  the  War 
Service  work.  Headquarters  were  established  in  the  Library  of 
Congress.  Here  there  is  competent  oversight  of  the  work  at  the 
camps,  careful  administration  of  the  Fund,  with  a scrutinizing 
accounting  of  all  expenditures.  Prompt  attention  is  paid  to  the 
needs  and  opportunities  for  service  as  reported  by  the  librarians 
in  charge  at  the  camps.  Considerate  attention  is  paid  to  the 
relations  with  other  organizations  and  branches  of  the  govern- 
ment service.  An  earnest  appeal  for  material  is  being  sent  out 
and  its  distribution  properly  looked  after.  The  headquarters 
also  serve  as  a clearing  house  for  information,  experiences  of 
camp  librarians,  and  a place  for  conferences  between  workers 
themselves. 

An  earnest  and  successful  effort  has  been  made  to  keep  ad- 
ministrative expenses  down  to  a minimum.  Every  dollar  saved 
means  another  book  bought.  The  headquarters  in  the  Library 
of  Congress  are  supplied  without  cost  to  the  Fund.  The  per- 
sonnel consists  largely  of  volunteers.  Much  of  the  assembling 
and  despatching  of  material  at  local  points  is  done  by  the  local 
librarians,  volunteering  for  this  special  war  service.  Expensive 
formalities  in  the  way  of  complicated  classification  and  catalog- 
ing have  been  avoided;  only  such  as  are  deemed  necessary  is 
done  at  the  Library  of  Congress  before  the  books  are  sent  to  the 


8 


MAGAZINES  AND  NEWSPAPERS  ARE  POPULAR  IN  THE  CAMP  LIBRARIES 


BRANCH  LIBRARY,  VANCOUVER  BARRACKS 

Every  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  K.  of  C.,  Y.  M.  II.  A.,  and  Base  Hospital  is  Used 
as  a Branch  Station 


THE  CAMP  LIBRARIAN 


camps.  There  is  ordinarily  no  catalogue  record  of  fiction.  Non- 
fiction, which  represents  the  expenditure  of  much  money,  is  being 
roughly  classified,  just  enough  to  bring  the  large  groups  of 
kindred  books  together.  The  charging  system  used  is  so  simple 
that  the  men  themselves  can  charge  the  books  they  take  out. 

At  Camp  Devens  the  outside  front  cover  of  the  book  is  treated 
with  white  shellac,  thinned  with  wood  alcohol.  This  treatment 
protects  the  label  on  the  outside  of  the  book  and  keeps  the  cover 
clean.  In  a book  pocket,  pasted  in  the  inside  of  the  back  cover, 
is  a “book  card”  bearing  author  and  title  for  fiction,  with  the 
class  number  added  for  non-fiction.  Blue  book  cards  are  found 
to  be  good  in  dusty  camps. 

Many  varieties  of  book-plates  for  the  outside  of  the  volumes 
as  well  as  for  use  on  the  inside  of  the  front  cover  are  used. 
Marking  the  source  of  gifts  has  more  than  a sentimental  value. 

Two  months’  resident  service  was  asked  of  the  library  organ- 
izers. For  this  work  men  were  lent  by  their  library  trustees, 
given  leave  with  pay,  their  expenses  being  met  by  the  Association. 
A number  of  high-grade  men  were  secured  for  this  form  of 
service. 


The  Camp  Librarian 

Some  of  the  camp  librarians  are  volunteers;  others  are  paid 
a small  salary, — $1,200  per  year,  in  addition  to  subsistence, — 
an  amount  less  than  a second  lieutenant  receives.  There  is  also 
a paid  assistant  provided  with  subsistence.  Some  provision  is 
likewise  made  for  janitor  service  and  the  expenses  of  the  local 
volunteers,  making  a total  cost  of  about  $250  per  month  for  each 
camp  library.  Multiplying  this  by  thirty-one  brings  the  amount 
up  to  about  $8,000  per  month,  less  than  $100,000  per  year  for 
this  branch  of  the  service. 

Although  the  work  has  been  simplified  as  far  as  possible  at 
headquarters,  additional  men  are  still  needed  for  this  Camp 
Library  service,  since  the  employment  of  women  is  not  permitted 
by  the  rules  of  the  War  Department.  Women  are,  however,  per- 
mitted to  do  volunteer  work  in  connection  with  library  service. 


9 


A.  L.  A.  WAR  SERVICE 


Where  the  camp  is  adjacent  to  a town  the  supervision  of  the 
camp  library  has  in  some  cases  been  entrusted  to  the  woman 
who  is  chief  librarian  of  the  local  public  library.  Women  libra- 
rians desiring  to  proffer  volunteer  service  of  this  permitted  type 
are  requested  to  communicate  with  the  camp  librarian.  In  Camp 
Sherman  the  technical  work  of  getting  the  books  ready  for  the 
library  was  placed  under  the  direction  of  the  daughter  of  the 
Commanding  Officer.  She  is  a graduate  of  Pratt  Institute 
Library  School.  Her  volunteer  assistants  were  recruited  mainly 
from  the  wives  of  officers  at  the  camp,  many  of  whom  welcomed 
the  opportunity  to  help.  This  volunteer  staff  does  its  work  at 
the  Chillicothe  Public  Library  and  is  capable  of  preparing  about 
300  books  a day. 

Books  are  sent  to  the  camp  librarian  from  libraries  which  have 
been  collecting  books  from  citizens.  All  books  must  be  delivered 
at  storehouses  of  the  Quartermaster’s  Corps,  and  must  be  taken 
from  platforms  every  day.  No  assistance  can  be  given  in  the 
matter  of  delivery  to  the  library  building  either  by  the  Quarter- 
master or  the  express  companies.  It  has  been  found  expedient 
to  supply  each  camp  library  with  a low-priced  automobile  with 
delivery  box  attached. 

One  camp  librarian  requesting  aid  had  two  Italians  who  could 
neither  write  nor  speak  English  detailed  to  assist  him, — despite 
the  fact  that  there  was  a trained  Library  of  Congress  assistant 
among  the  drafted  men  in  camp.  Another  camp  librarian  dis- 
covered that  the  sturdy  enlisted  man  chosen  by  the  Division 
Adjutant  to  be  his  library  assistant  could  neither  read  nor  write. 
The  librarian  at  Camp  Dodge  was  more  fortunate,  for  four  men 
were  found  there  who  were  previously  engaged  in  library  work, 
and  were  permitted  to  help  in  the  Camp  Library. 

It  is  necessary  for  the  camp  librarian  to  pay  an  official  visit  on 
the  Commanding  General,  though  he  does  well  if  he  gets  beyond 
the  chief  of  staff.  The  general  must  know  that  the  A.  L.  A.  is 
on  the  grounds  and  at  work.  His  official  sanction  is  required. 
One  camp  librarian  says  that  he  has  learned  from  experience 
the  value  of  the  axiom  current  in  his  camp:  “Go  to  the  highest 

official  possible,  and  to  headquarters  for  everything.” 


10 


The  Buildings 

The  library  buildings  are  plain  wooden  structures,  conforming 
to  the  general  type  adopted  for  the  cantonments,  but  admirably 
suited  to  their  special  use.  They  were  designed  by  E.  L.  Tilton, 
a well-known  library  architect,  who  contributed  his  services. 
The  libraries  are  all  built  after  the  one  plan,  differing  only  in 
length.  The  original  drawings  called  for  a building  120  x 40 
feet,  but  in  some  cases  the  length  was  cut  down  to  93  feet.  The 
sites  are  near  the  residential  center  of  the  camps  and  convenient 
to  the  transportation  lines.  The  interior  is  one  large  room  with 
two  bedrooms  located  at  one  end.  There  are  open  shelves  ac- 
commodating about  10,000  volumes.  In  some  of  the  buildings 
an  alcove  has  been  assigned  for  the  use  of  officers.  Tables  and 
chairs  for  about  200  readers  are  provided.  The  aim  is  to  have 
the  buildings  equipped  for  service,  health  and  such  comfort  as 
may  be  justified  by  the  character  and  purpose  of  an  emergency 
building  for  war  time  service.  The  librarian  at  Camp  Sherman 
succeeded  in  getting  authorization  to  build  a fireplace,  eight  feet 
wide,  with  a four-foot  opening.  Touches  of  home  are  at  a 
premium  in  a soldier’s  camp. 

The  end  of  December  saw  the  library  buildings  in  all  the 
cantonments  completed  except  one  and  that  was  delayed  by  local 
conditions.  The  majority  were  built  on  a basis  of  cost  plus  six 
per  cent.  The  first  at  Camp  Lewis  was  opened  on  November 
28th.  The  delay  in  opening  the  others  is  attributable  to  the 
delay  in  the  arrival  of  furniture  and  equipment;  but  in  the  mean- 
time the  buildings  were  used  for  the  storage  and  preparation  of 
the  books  for  the  shelves.  They  were  doing  business  even  with- 
out furniture.  In  some  cases  makeshift  furniture  was  rented; 
in  others,  crude  benches  and  tables  were  made  out  of  rough 
lumber. 

At  Camp  Devens  temporary  quarters  were  found  in  a mess 
hall  formerly  used  by  officers  of  the  Quartermaster’s  Corps,  with 
tables  for  about  seventy  readers.  Books  were  accommodated  on 
makeshift  wall  shelving  under  the  windows  and  in  six-foot  sec- 
tions of  shelving  so  constructed  that  they  could  be  used  elsewhere 
if  needed.  Boxes  turned  on  sides  were  also  used  for  shelving. 


11 


A.  L.  A.  WAR  SERVICE 


The  buildings  for  the  National  Guard  Camps  were  deliberately 
deferred  because  of  the  uncertainty  as  to  how  long  these  tent 
camps  would  be  maintained,  and  because  of  the  likelihood  that 
the  already  seasoned  occupants  would  be  sent  abroad  before  the 
buildings  could  be  made  available  for  them.  Epidemics  were  a 
deterring  factor  in  other  cases.  But  in  all  of  the  camps,  save 
Beauregard  (quarantined),  library  buildings  are  now  either  under 
way  or  completed.  Additional  buildings  have  been  contracted 
for  at  Fort  Oglethorpe  and  at  Camp  Johnston.  One  is  being 
arranged  for  at  Camp  Merritt,  the  embarkation  Camp  at  Tenaflv. 

In  erecting  these  buildings,  many  obstacles  were  met.  Wages 
and  prices  for  materials  had  risen,  freight  was  seriously  congested 
and  contractors  were  leaving  the  camps  with  their  laborers. 

Much  of  the  equipment  in  these  libraries  can  be  used  after  the 
war  in  the  establishment  of  new  public  libraries. 

The  Call  for  Books 

Do  the  men  in  the  camps  read?  When  do  they  find  time  for  it? 

Some  people  have  been  raising  the  one  question,  and  others 
have  been  doubtful  about  the  second  point.  Major  General 
Glenn,  the  commanding  officer  at  Camp  Sherman,  wrote  to  Mr. 
W.  H.  Brett,  librarian  of  the  Cleveland  Public  Library,  asking 
him  to  take  steps  to  correct  the  erroneous  impression  that  had 
gone  abroad  that  the  men  did  not  have  time  for  reading  on  ac- 
count of  the  demands  of  military  training.  He  wished  to  have 
it  known  that  there  is  no  one  thing  that  will  be  of  greater  value 
to  the  men  in  his  cantonment  in  producing  contentment  with  their 
surroundings  than  properly  selected  reading  matter. 

One  officer  wrote  to  headquarters  that  he  needed  books  for  his 
men  so  badly  that  he  was  quite  willing  to  pay  for  them  himself. 
Another  officer  said  that  if  the  A.  L.  A.  would  supply  his  regi- 
ment with  books,  he  would  see  to  it  that  a room  and  a competent 
man  to  take  care  of  the  books  would  be  provided,  for  all  seem 
agreed  that  the  men  in  the  new  American  army  are  very  eager 
to  read.  Even  before  the  regular  camp  libraries  were  opened  a 


12 


BRANCH  LIBRARY,  K.  OF  C.  BUILDING,  CAMP  KEARNEY 


THE  SUPPLY  OF  BOOKS 


hundred  books  placed  in  a Y.  M.  C.  A.  building  of  an  evening 
would  usually  be  borrowed  before  the  building  closed  for  the 
night. 

That  men  who  have  been  drilling,  marching  and  digging 
trenches  all  day  are  liable  to  be  too  tired  in  the  evening  to  wish 
to  walk  any  great  distance  for  books  has  been  recognized  in 
efforts  to  bring  the  books  as  near  to  the  soldiers’  barracks  as 
possible.  In  some  instances  traveling  libraries  have  been  resorted 
to  with  very  great  success. 

In  some  camps,  books  are  sent  to  the  barracks  where  they  are 
placed  in  the  social  room  under  the  direction  of  the  “top  sergeant” 
upon  the  request  of  the  commanding  officer  of  the  company,  the 
captain  or  the  lieutenant.  The  handling  of  books  so  deposited 
is  left  to  the  sergeant,  with  no  instructions  except  a request  that 
he  look  after  the  books  as  carefully  as  possible. 

Regimental  libraries  are  found  at  the  headquarters  of  the 
officers  of  a regiment.  These  are  used  by  from  75  to  100  officers. 
A lieutenant  is  usually  detailed  to  look  after  the  library,  which 
is  treated  as  a branch  of  the  A.  L.  A.  library.  The  books  are 
exchanged  from  time  to  time  as  needed. 

The  expectation  is  that  as  the  men  become  more  hardened  and 
accustomed  to  their  work  and  hours  they  will  not  tire  so  quickly 
and  consequently  will  be  better  able  to  read  and  study.  As  the 
men  will  have  little  but  the  recreation  halls  to  occupy  their 
leisure,  many  who  are  not  naturally  studious  will  be  glad  to  turn 
to  the  libraries  during  the  stormy  days  and  long  evenings. 


The  Supply  of  Books 

It  became  apparent  quite  early  that  at  least  350,000  new  books 
would  have  to  be  purchased  immediately  for  the  larger  canton- 
ments. While  it  was  recognized  that  many  desirable  books  would 
be  presented  and  similar  volumes  would  continue  to  come  in  as 
gifts,  yet  there  would  be  innumerable  titles  asked  for  that  could 
only  be  secured  by  purchase.  It  would  be  obviously  impossible 
to  rely  upon  donations  to  meet  the  specific  needs  of  officers  in 


13 


A.  L.  A.  WAR  SERVICE 


charge  of  military  instruction  and  ambitious  soldiers  following 
definite  lines  of  study.  It  would  be  futile  to  hope  that  the  special 
books  on  wireless  telegraphy  most  in  demand  would  come  in  by 
chance  gifts.  Ample  funds  must  be  in  hand  so  that  all  needs 
could  be  met  as  they  became  known.  Text  books  must  be  sup- 
plied in  considerable  quantities.  Expensive  up-to-date  reference 
books  must  be  provided  generously.  The  problem  of  transpor- 
tation and  freight  congestion  must  be  faced.  All  books,  whether 
purchased  or  donated,  must  be  made  ready  for  use.  Volumes 
must  be  replaced  as  they  become  worn  out  or  lost. 

Thanks  to  the  “speeding  up”  of  this  work  by  Dr.  Putnam,  the 
General  Director,  the  first  of  January  found  310,000  books  in 
the  larger  training  camps  and  34,000  in  the  smaller  posts,  with 
about  220,000  additional  volumes  on  the  way.  Had  it  not  been 
for  transportation  difficulties  all  these  books  would  have  been 
in  place  much  earlier.  By  the  end  of  March  an  additional  half 
million  books  were  shipped.  The  purchases  have  been  made 
cautiously,  and  thus  far  are  almost  entirely  serious  books  on 
technology,  the  mechanic  arts,  military  science,  history,  travel. 

Credit  is  due  many  publishing  houses  for  their  generous  co- 
operation. Discounts  of  from  forty-five  to  fifty  per  cent  from 
publication  prices  were  by  no  means  uncommon.  Some  university 
presses  and  correspondence  schools  offered  to  donate  such  of 
their  publications  as  could  be  used. 

The  books  have  not  been  chosen  by  librarians  closeted  in  their 
offices.  The  list  ordered  from  headquarters  is  the  result  of  con- 
sultation with  numerous  experts  in  the  different  fields  of  the 
service.  Many  titles  have  been  requisitioned  by  officers,  educa- 
tional secretaries  and  men  in  the  camps  who  have  felt  the  need 
for  a specific  book. 

“We  are  having  repeated  calls  for  technical  handbooks  and 
textbooks,”  writes  a librarian  from  Camp  Meade.  “We  want  all 
kinds  of  engineering  handbooks,  mechanics  handbooks,  books  on 
sanitary  engineering,  and  books  on  all  branches  of  the  service. 
They  cannot  be  too  technical  to  suit  the  men.  You  will  be  in- 
terested to  know  how  quickly  the  newly  purchased  books  are 


14 


GIFTS 


snapped  up.  Of  the  six  copies  of  Thompson’s  Electricity,  four 
are  now  out  and  were  out  within  a week  after  they  were  ready.” 

Gifts 

The  sources  of  gift  material  have  scarcely  been  tapped.  A 
vigorous  campaign  for  books  will  be  conducted.  This  will  be 
national  as  well  as  local.  The  first  books  received  in  the  camps 
by  gift  were  mainly  fiction,  as  might  be  expected. 

One  camp  librarian  reports  a steady  stream  of  gifts,  which 
keeps  pace  fairly  well  with  the  demands  for  new  branches  and 
of  the  replenishing  of  the  shelves  of  branches  already  open.  The 
quality  continues  good,  says  he,  and  he  has  been  able  to  lay  aside 
the  nucleus  for  a reference  collection  and  a section  of  specially 
readable  books.  Nine  sets  of  early  editions  of  a good  encyclo- 
pedia were  donated. 

Many  authors  have  presented  several  hundred  copies  of  their 
own  works, — one  example  being  Dr.  Hornaday’s  “The  Man  who 
became  a Savage.” 

To  Camp  Upton  the  Lotus  Club  presented  a choice  selection 
from  their  shelves  for  an  officers’  library. 

“Many  clean,  second-hand  books  can  be  used,  but  let  us  not 
insult  our  devoted  brothers  by  offering  them  what  no  one  else 
can  use,”  wrote  Mr.  W.  E.  Henry.  “They  wear  the  best  of 
wool  clothing,  much  of  which  will  be  blood  stained.  They  wear 
the  best  of  leather  shoes,  many  of  which  will  be  worn  out,  but 
they  will  have  done  their  service.  Give  the  soldier  good  clean 
books  and  late  magazines  whatever  may  ultimately  be  the  fate 
of  this  material.” 

That  the  gift  horse  must  be  inspected  is  being  demonstrated 
anew  in  various  centers.  To  one  Camp  Library  were  sent  copies  of 
Zola’s  “L’Assommoir,”  Daudet’s  “Sapho”  and  De  Maupassant’s 
“Bel- Ami.”  From  the  reading  room  of  a church  in  a town  that 
we  shall  not  name  came  copies  of  Snappy  Stories.  To  the  as- 
sistant in  charge  of  the  sorting  station  in  the  New  York  Public 
Library  it  seemed  as  if  at  least  one  copy  of  every  improper  book 
that  was  ever  written  was  sent  in  for  the  soldiers  and  sailors. 


15 


A.  L.  A.  WAR  SERVICE 


At  the  other  end  of  the  long  range  of  rejected  offers  was  that  of 
a shelf-full  of  Elsie  books,  with  scattering  volumes  of  Alger’s 
juvenile  stories.  An  offer  of  a file  of  the  Undertaker’s  Review 
was  graciously  declined  at  headquarters. 

Unusable  were  some  school  readers  antedating  the  Civil  War, 
out-of-date  text  books  and  much  soiled  editions  of  the  classical 
authors  given  by  people  who  wished  to  clear  their  shelves  and 
had  no  idea  of  what  our  soldiers  are  like. 

Among  other  rejected  addresses  are:  Paley’s  “Moral  Philos- 
ophy,” with  the  not  much  more  modern  manual  on  the  same  sub- 
ject by  Andrew  P.  Peabody;  Sunday  School  books  of  fifty  years 
ago;  annual  reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology;  proceedings  of 
the  American  Breeders’  Association;  a broken  file  of  a German 
periodical  devoted  to  natural  history,  dating  from  1860;  the 
Postal  and  Telegraphic  Code  of  the  Argentine  Republic;  annual 
reports  of  the  Episcopal  Eye  and  Ear  Hospital,  twenty  years 
old;  odd  volumes  of  the  official  Records  of  the  War  of  the  Re- 
bellion ; and  volume  seven  of  the  collected  works  of  Sir  Humphry 
Davy.  Special  mention  should  be  made  of  Ruskin’s  “Letters  to 
young  girls,”  and  Miss  Leslie’s  “American  girl’s  book,  or  oc- 
cupations for  play  hours”  (1866),  and  copies  of  the  Housewife 
and  Home  Needlework.  The  prize  gift,  however,  was  a Diary 
for  1916,  partly  filled  in  by  the  donor. 

Attempts  have  been  made  to  use  the  camp  libraries  for  German 
propagandist  publications.  “The  Vampire  of  the  Continent”  and 
other  pro-German  works  have  had  to  be  refused. 


Educational  Opportunities 

As  a camp  librarian  was  looking  at  a “First  reader  in  English” 
and  trying  to  decide  what  to  do  with  it,  a Y.  M.  C.  A.  man  saw 
the  questioning  look  and  said : 

“If  you  want  to  keep  that  book  for  your  library  better  not 
put  it  on  the  open  shelves.” 

“Why?”  asked  the  librarian. 

16 


USING  Y.  M.  C.  A.  BUILDING  AT  CAMP  KELLY  ON  SUNDAY  MORNING  FOR 
READING  AND  WRITING  AFTER  SERVICE. 


BUILDING,  1ST  VERMONT  INFANTRY,  EAGLE  PASS,  TEXAS. 


EDUCATIONAL  OPPORTUNITIES 


“Well,  there  are  a good  many  men  here  who  do  not  know  the 
rudiments  of  English  but  are  ashamed  of  the  fact.  They  would 
take  a book  like  that  off  the  shelves  without  leaving  any  card 
because  they  would  not  want  to  have  it  known  that  they  were  so 
ignorant  of  the  common  tongue.” 

There  are  in  the  cantonments  many  foreign-speaking  men  who 
must  learn  how  to  understand,  read  and  give  orders  in  English. 
To  each  camp  library  there  have  now  gone  ten  copies  of  a book 
on  elementary  English  intended  for  adults.  The  English  lessons 
given  by  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  are  largely  conversational  and  are 
planned  as  far  as  possible  to  center  around  the  daily  duties  of 
the  men. 

The  Massachusetts  Free  Public  Library  Commission  has  sent 
to  Camp  Devens  copies  of  Field’s  “English  for  new  Americans” 
and  Plass’s  “Civics  for  Americans  in  the  making”  to  be  used  as 
text  books  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  classes  in  English  for  foreign- 
speaking men. 

This  touches  on  an  important  phase  of  the  work  of  the  libraries 
and  suggests  some  of  the  great  opportunities  opening  up  to  them. 
Many  men  who  lack  all  formal  education  will  now  come  in  con- 
tact with  books  for  the  first  time.  They  will  have  to  be  taught 
how  to  use  them.  Others  will  need  directing  in  the  choice  of 
books.  All  will  need  the  intelligent  and  sympathetic  assistance 
of  trained  library  workers  interested  in  the  men,  their  intellectual 
progress  and  their  every  day  problems. 

Among  the  “squatters”  in  Florida  are  many  families  in  which 
not  only  are  the  children  unable  to  read,  but  the  parents  do  not 
wish  to  have  them  learn.  Periodicals  that  have  been  sent  to  these 
families  have  been  returned  to  the  senders.  The  parents  argued 
that  if  their  children  read  these  magazines  and  looked  at  the 
alluring  illustrations,  they  would  become  dissatisfied  with  their 
surroundings.  Then  along  came  the  draft  and  took  the  young 
men  out  of  their  satisfied,  but  wretched  state,  and  gave  them  their 
first  glimpse  of  the  outside  world.  To  such  the  libraries  and  the 
educational  opportunities  are  a priceless  boon. 


17 


A.  L.  A.  WAR  SERVICE 


Some  of  the  Georgia  “crackers”  when  asked  on  being  regis- 
tered what  their  names  were,  would  say  “Sonny”  or  “Bobby.” 
In  reply  to  further  prodding  as  to  family  names  they  pleaded 
ignorance  of  a knowledge  of  anything  but  the  family  nickname. 
In  the  cantonments  there  are  many  illiterate  whites,  blacks, 
Indians  and  half-breeds  who  are  there  taught  how  to  read  and 
write.  Big  strapping  fellows  as  they  are,  they  must  be  treated 
as  school  children  in  matters  of  intelligence. 

Think  of  what  the  new  military  life  means  to  such  as  these! 
The  draft  takes  them  suddenly  out  of  their  old  surroundings  and 
in  place  of  civil  liberty  surrounds  them  with  military  restraint, 
but  at  the  same  time  opens  up  vast  new  fields  of  opportunity  for 
education  and  development. 

The  camp  libraries  are  a great  help  to  the  educational  work 
of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  They  are  valuable  auxiliaries  to  the  courses 
in  English,  in  arithmetic,  in  camp  sanitation,  in  local  and  general 
geography,  in  personal  hygiene,  in  modern  civics  and  govern- 
ment, and  in  camp  morale. 

Mafly  of  the  men  who  are  using  the  camp  libraries  have  never 
before  had  the  privilege  of  access  to  books  and  know  nothing  of 
the  liberality  of  library  service.  A mountaineer  from  an  isolated 
district  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Kentucky  said,  after  having 
been  given  a book  at  Camp  Zachary  Taylor,  “How  much  do  I 
owe  you?” 

A question  constantly  put  to  the  camp  librarians  is,  “How  much 
does  it  cost  to  borrow  books?”  The  idea  of  free  library  service 
is  new  to  many. 

The  reverse  of  the  picture  is  equally  interesting.  There  are 
estimated  to  be  45,000  students  from  the  576  colleges  of  the 
country  in  the  new  American  army.  In  Camp  Devens  alone 
there  were  695  college  men,  representing  27  New  England  higher 
institutions  of  learning.  From  the  start  these  were  drafted  men 
and  they  exerted  a marked  influence  upon  their  messmates,  some 
of  whom  were  former  mill  operatives  from  the  textile  centers  of 
New  England.  The  presence  of  these  academically  trained  men 
means  a call  for  specialized  classes  of  books  in  the  camp  libraries. 


18 


MAGAZINES  AND  NEWSPAPERS 


Some  colleges  are  giving  credits  for  studying  done  in  the  camps 
and,  needless  to  say,  the  War  Service  administration  is  desirous 
of  supplying  the  books  needed. 


Magazines  and  Newspapers 

A new  postal  regulation  permits  the  public  to  send  current 
magazines  through  the  mail  to  the  camps  by  affixing  a one-cent 
stamp  to  the  outside  cover.  Neither  address  nor  wrapper  is 
needed.  The  result  has  been  a vast  influx  of  periodicals  of  vary- 
ing degrees  of  suitability  for  this  purpose.  Some  well-inten- 
tioned people  seem  to  have  no  idea  as  to  the  subjects  in  which 
the  men  are  interested.  Others  fail  to  distinguish  between  the 
literary  tastes  of  men  and  women. 

The  librarian  at  Camp  Funston  reports  that  the  number  of 
sacks  of  magazines  of  all  ages  and  conditions  received  through 
the  postal  authorities  has  grown  from  about  20  per  week  in  the 
beginning  of  October  to  five  times  the  number, — more  than  they 
can  use  to  advantage.  The  librarian  at  Camp  Beauregard  has 
had  the  same  experience,  adding  that  he  had  been  receiving 
mostly  such  as  were  undeliverable  to  the  addressees,  though  some 
were  specifically  for  the  camp.  “It  is  not  a choice  lot,”  says  he. 
“and  latest  numbers  are  few  and  far  between.  Very  few  are 
the  more  expensive  monthlies.”  This  camp  librarian  says  he  has 
more  than  enough  of  back  numbers,  excepting  the  best  popular 
magazines.  What  he  needs  is  from  ten  to  twenty  subscriptions 
to  a dozen  different  magazines,  so  that  they  can  be  sure  to  receive 
the  numbers  regularly.  There  seems  to  have  been  a deluge  of 

Socks  and  sardines 
And  old  magazines 

over  all  our  camps,  which  brings  to  mind  the  remark  of  one  of 
the  soldiers  in  the  trenches:  “We  are  up  to  the  knees  in  mud 
and  mufflers.”  Magazines  might  now  be  added.  It  is  true  that 
some  of  the  smaller  posts  lack  a sufficient  supply,  but  arrange- 
ments are  being  made  to  meet  this  need. 

Yet  the  oversupply  can  be  used  to  advantage  at  times.  When 
Camp  Bowie  was  quarantined  for  three  weeks  before  Christma*. 


19 


A.  L.  A.  WAR  SERVICE 


there  were  as  many  as  1,700  patients  in  the  base  hospital  at  one 
time.  The  soldiers  were  not  allowed  to  use  library  books  during 
this  period  and  the  great  store  of  back  magazines  which  had 
previously  seemed  almost  a nightmare  to  the  camp  librarian,  came 
into  an  unexpected  usefulness.  All  available  copies,  except  those 
reserved  for  reference,  were  used  up,  even  down  to  the  latest 
Saturday  Evening  Post. 

One  camp  librarian,  deluged  with  tons  of  magazines,  sent 
quantities  of  them,  without  sorting,  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  K. 
of  C.  buildings,  to  barracks,  to  officers’  clubs  and  base  hospitals — 
hoping  to  give  the  men  a variety  of  reading.  He  endeavored  to 
sort  by  titles  and  then  group  chronologically,  but  gave  it  up  in 
despair.  The  demand  is  rather  for  the  current  month  or  the 
weekly  issue,  or  simply  for  a “bunch  of  magazines.”  Neither 
of  these  calls  is  served  the  better  by  elaborate  sorting.  One 
group  of  readers  will  ask  for  magazines  of  a general  nature, — 
because  they  are  quickly  glanced  through  and  thrown  aside, — 
while  another  will  ask  for  books — frequently  definite  titles — the 
reading  of  which  takes  considerable  time. 

One  of  the  most  welcome  gifts  received  at  Camp  Devens  was 
contributed  by  the  Wellesley  College  Undergraduate  Periodical 
League.  It  consisted  of  subscriptions  for  twelve  copies  of  six 
monthly  magazines  and  six  weeklies.  These  are  distributed  be- 
tween the  main  library,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  huts  and  the  Y.  W.  C.  A. 
hostess  house. 

Magazines  in  French  are  in  constant  demand  by  the  men  who 
are  studying  the  language.  Subscriptions  have  been  placed  for 
the  Courier  des  Etats  Unis  to  be  sent  to  all  camp  libraries. 

Early  last  fall  the  librarian  at  Camp  Sherman  wrote  to  the 
editor  of  every  paper  published  in  Ohio  and  western  Pennsyl- 
vania asking  that  five  complimentary  copies  of  each  issue  be  sent 
for  the  use  of  the  men  at  that  camp.  There  was  a hearty  re- 
sponse and  for  over  three  months  three  hundred  dailies  and  as 
many  semi-weeklies  have  been  received  at  the  camp.  It  is  im- 
possible to  describe  what  this  meant  to  the  men.  We  all  know 
that  what  the  soldier  wants  above  everything  else  is  news  from 
home.  It’s  the  same  with  books:  the  boys  like  best  those  that 


20 


W A T E RTOWN.  M A SS A CH U S ETTS. 


© International  Film  Service 


POPULAR  AUTHORS 


recall  home  scenes.  The  Indiana  men  give  a hearty  welcome  to 
James  Whitcomb  Riley’s  poems,  and  to  Booth  Tarkington’s 
“Gentleman  from  Indiana.”  The  Kentucky  boys  ask  for  John 
Fox,  Jr.’s  “Little  Shepherd  of  Kingdom  Come,”  “Trail  of  the 
Lonesome  Pine,”  and  “Christmas  Eve  on  Lonesome.” 


Popular  Authors 

At  Camp  Beauregard  the  writers  that  seem  to  be  the  most 
popular  are  O.  Henry,  Harold  Bell  Wright,  G.  B.  McCutcheon, 
Jack  London,  Chambers,  Conan  Doyle,  Mark  Twain,  E.  P.  Op- 
penheim,  Kipling,  Poe,  Booth  Tarkington,  Rider  Haggard, 
Dumas,  and  H.  G.  Wells.  This  is  probably  a typical  list  of 
authors  who  are  favorites  in  the  camps. 

At  Camp  Zachary  Taylor  a soldier  came  in  to  renew  Mrs. 
Barclay’s  “Rosary,”  remarking  that  it  was  the  finest  book  he 
had  ever  read,  but  that  he  couldn’t  get  through  with  it  in  four- 
teen days  to  save  his  life.  The  book  was  renewed  and  his  chums, 
who  also  wanted  it,  had  to  wait  their  turn. 

Some  of  the  enlisted  men,  on  the  other  hand,  show  a remark- 
able capacity  for  rapid  reading.  There  are  those  who  come  in 
practically  every  day  for  a fresh  book.  One  patron  took  out 
and  read  regularly  three  books  a day,  until  a soldier  in  another 
company  began  to  do  the  same.  The  first  man  then  dropped 
down  to  two  books  a day,  feeling  that  the  effort  to  maintain  his 
supremacy  among  camp  book-worms  was  too  great  a tax  upon  his 
endurance.  At  Camp  Gordon  one  copy  of  Ralph  Connor’s  “The 
Doctor”  circulated  forty-eight  times  in  one  month. 

There  is  an  amusing  rivalry  between  the  different  units  as  to 
which  is  the  best  educated.  Some  of  the  men  try  to  display  their 
erudition  in  the  library. 

Said  a soldier  to  a camp  librarian:  “A  fellow  told  me  about  a 
book  to  read  by  Porter,  called  The  Thresher.”  Gene  Stratton 
Porter’s  “The  Harvester”  was  given  him  and  found  to  be  what 
he  was  in  search  of. 


21 


A.  L.  A.  WAR  SERVICE 


There  is,  as  might  be  expected,  a loud  call  for  detective  stories 
and  tales  of  adventure.  The  men  want  books  of  that  sort  which 
they  have  read  before.  They  find  relaxation  in  going  back  over 
the  books  of  Conan  Doyle,  Stevenson,  and  Weyman.  Time  being 
at  a premium,  some  don’t  care  to  risk  new  things  that  they  are 
not  sure  of,  but  prefer  to  go  back  to  the  old  authors  with  whom 
they  are  familiar. 

Books  describing  the  war  are  naturally  in  great  demand.  So, 
too,  are  books  on  vocational  training,  and  technical  treatises  on 
military  science,  telegraphy,  gasoline  engines,  signalling,  trans- 
portation, and  other  subjects  which  are  eagerly  studied  by  the 
ambitious  officers. 

Surprises  are  sometimes  in  store  for  the  librarian  who  thinks 
that  the  men  care  only  for  fiction.  A librarian  starting  in  at  a 
new  post  expected  that  the  first  call  would  be  for  some  book  by 
G.  B.  McCutcheon  or  Jack  London.  He  was  somewhat  taken 
aback  when  the  first  patron  asked  for  Shakespeare’s  “Pericles.” 

A private  asked  for  a late  book  on  electric  motors  and  was 
shown  what  the  camp  librarian  considered  his  best  book  on  the 
subject.  “Oh,  I did  the  drawings  for  that  book,”  said  he.  “I 
want  something  better  than  that !” 

Types  of  Service 

Evidences  of  the  appreciation  of  the  efforts  of  the  camp  libra- 
rian are  beginning  to  come  in  from  many  sides.  When  a machine 
gun  company  went  into  quarantine  on  account  of  measles,  the 
major  was  pleased  to  have  a hundred  books  and  a lot  of  maga- 
zines sent  over  to  him.  The  camp  librarian  was  aware  of  the 
fact  that  the  medical  officer  might  not  permit  the  return  of  this 
material,  but  he  was  willing  to  stand  the  loss. 

A soldier  detailed  to  call  for  a box  of  books  at  a public  library, 
said:  “Gee,  Lady,  you  mean  to  give  us  all  those  books!  Say,  you 
people  know  what  to  do  for  a soldier!  Some  people  just  talk 
an’  talk  about  entertainin’  soldiers,  but  say,  you  have  just  hit 
the  nail  right  on  the  head — without  savin’  a word,  too !” 


22 


TYPES  OF  SERVICE 


The  librarian  at  Camp  Upton  reports  that  officers  have  come 
to  the  library  for  help  in  the  technical  aspects  of  their  particular 
branch  of  the  service  and  have  expressed  appreciation  of  the 
value  of  good  propaganda  material  in  building  up  the  morale  of 
the  men. 

A man  at  Camp  Devens  said  that  what  he  wanted  was  a place 
where  he  could  sit  down  in  peace  and  quiet,  with  a book  or  two 
and  a chance  to  read  and  dream.  “Your  alcoves  are  godsends,” 
said  he  to  the  librarian.  “The  barrack’s  social  room  in  which 
75  to  125  men  are  talking  and  playing  cards,  where  a piano  and 
phonograph  are  rivaling  one  another,  and  where  at  any  moment 
a basketball  may  knock  your  head  sideways,  is  certainly  no  decent 
place  to  read,  let  alone  trying  to  do  any  studying.” 

The  librarian  at  Camp  Logan,  Texas,  writes  that  there  is  im- 
mediate need  for  books  of  live  present-day  interest,  bearing  on 
all  phases;  books  of  travel  and  histories  of  France,  England,  and 
the  United  States;  mathematics  (arithmetic,  geometry)  French 
conversation;  automobiles;  army  engineering;  manuals  of  army 
organization;  the  poetry  of  Service,  Noyes,  Masefield,  Whittier, 
Longfellow,  collections  of  war  poetry;  and  inspirational  books 
on  modern,  social  and  religious  questions.  He  adds  that  he  would 
be  glad  to  receive  a consignment  of  books  of  this  character,  with 
titles  duplicated  from  five  to  fifteen  times.  He  is  of  the  opinion 
that  there  should  also  be  eight  or  ten  good  war  atlases. 

From  other  sources  comes  the  word  that  maps  are  studied  and 
handled  until  they  are  in  shreds.  A group  of  a dozen  men  is 
frequently  seen  around  one  map.  The  men  not  only  want  maps 
of  their  home  district,  but  of  the  place  where  they  are  and  the 
places  where  they  have  reason  to  believe  they  are  going,  in- 
cluding the  maps  of  the  scene  of  conflict.  Good  atlases  and  wall 
maps  have  now  been  supplied  to  all  the  camp  libraries.  The 
post  route  maps  of  the  various  States  in  which  the  different 
camps  are  located,  and  the  topographic  survey  maps  of  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  are  very  helpful  and  popular  with  the  men. 

Another  camp  librarian  writes  that  French  manuals,  military 
manuals  not  published  by  the  Government,  aviation,  physical 
training,  sanitation,  book-keeping,  simple  textbooks  of  English, 


23 


A.  L.  A.  WAR  SERVICE 


histories,  and  books  about  the  stars  are  much  needed,  while  from 
another  camp  comes  the  request  for  French  magazines  and  French 
songs.  A special  interest  is  manifested  in  books  of  travel  and 
description  about  France.  The  men  want  to  know  about  the 
customs  of  the  country  they  expect  to  visit,  the  kind  of  money 
used  and  the  mode  of  life. 

The  first  requisition  slips  for  books  filled  out  at  Camp  Sherman 
were  for  books  on  the  valuation  of  public  utilities,  two  Dutch 
books  wanted  by  a Hollander,  books  on  the  conservation  of 
national  resources,  and  a Roumanian-English  dictionary.  The 
librarian  was  able  to  supply  all  but  the  last,  and  this  has  now 
been  ordered  by  headquarters. 

A stableman  in  the  Field  Hospital  Train  visited  the  library  at 
Camp  Devens,  with  some  fellow  muleteers,  and  discovered  a set 
of  Brady’s  “Photographs  of  the  Civil  War.”  This  became  the 
subject  of  animated  discussion.  The  men  had  seen  sets  at  home 
and  were  eager  to  show  one  another  pictures  which  had  previously 
interested  them. 

A private  in  the  Engineers’  Corps  at  Camp  Devens  asked  for 
books  which  would  explain  the  psychology  of  camouflage.  He 
was  something  of  an  artist  and  had  been  successful  with  color 
photography.  He  wanted  to  know,  for  example,  why  the  eye 
fails  to  recognize  a shadow  when  light  patches  have  been  painted 
where  the  shadow  would  naturally  fall.  Material  was  found  for 
him  and  he  succeeded  in  hiding  guns  so  well  with  paint  that  he 
deceived  his  own  captain. 

At  the  Great  Lakes  Naval  Training  Station  the  men  are  pur- 
suing systematic  studies  and  are  in  need  of  special  books  in 
mathematics,  engineering,  history  and  the  languages.  One  libra- 
rian reports  that  90  per  cent  of  his  circulation  is  non-fiction, 
mostly  technical  books  in  French,  historical  works  and  “war 
stuff.” 

“When  I started  this  work,”  writes  Mr.  Burton  E.  Stevenson, 
the  novelist  who  is  librarian  at  Camp  Sherman,  “I  had  some  very 
plausible  theories  about  the  kinds  of  books  the  men  would  want; 
but  I soon  discarded  them.  We  have  had  requests  here  for  every 


24 


© Committee  on  Public  Information 


© Underwood  & Underwood,  N.  Y- 


GUIDING  THE  READER 
Manv  of  the  Men  Need  Aid  in  Book  Selection 


RELATION  TO  AFFILIATED  ORGANIZATIONS 


sort  of  book,  from  some  books  by  Gene  Stratton  Porter  to  Bos- 
well’s ‘Life  of  Johnson’  and  Bergson’s  ‘Creative  Evolution.’  We 
have  had  requests  for  Ibsen’s  plays;  for  books  on  sewage  dis- 
posal; and  so  many  requests  for  ‘A  Message  to  Garcia’  that  I 
had  a supply  mimeographed.  In  one  building  there  were  so 
many  requests  for  books  on  religion  and  ethics  that  we  set  up  a 
small  reference  collection.  Broadly  speaking,  of  course,  most  of 
the  men  read  fiction ; exciting,  red-blooded  fiction-detective  stories, 
adventure  stories,  and  so  on.  But  there  is  also  a steady  demand 
for  Conrad,  and  Wells,  and  Hardy,  and  Meredith.  Poetry  is 
also  in  demand,  and  good  books  of  travel  go  well.  The  only 
kind  of  books  we  don’t  want  is  the  salacious,  risque  sort — for 
they  have  no  place  in  our  camp  libraries.  And  we  don’t  care 
for  unattractive,  cheap  editions,  with  yellow,  muddy  paper  and 
flimsy  binding.  We  want  attractive  books — nice,  clean  copies  of 
good  editions — and  the  more  of  these  we  get  the  better  service 
we  can  give  the  men.” 

Relation  to  Affiliated  Organizations 

The  American  Library  Association  works  in  close  connection 
with  kindred  organizations.  It  was  originally  proposed  that  the 
book  service  should  be  largely  through  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  the 
Knights  of  Columbus,  and  other  agencies.  At  the  beginning, 
while  some  books  were  deposited  in  the  temporary  camp  library 
quarters,  others  were  distributed  in  mess  halls,  and  among  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  huts,  field  hospitals,  and  clubs  of  the  Commission 
on  Training  Camp  Activities.  The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  buildings  (of 
which  there  are  from  six  to  ten  in  each  camp)  and  Knights  of 
Columbus  buildings  are  now  being  utilized  as  branch  libraries  or 
distributing  stations.  A Y.  M.  C.  A.  building  is  provided  for 
each  brigade,  a unit  of  six  or  seven  thousand  men,  and  this  use 
of  their  buildings  by  the  library  shortens  the  distance  between 
the  book  and  the  prospective  reader.  It  helps  to  get  hold  of 
many  men  who  are  not  in  the  habit  of  reading. 

In  each  Y.  M.  C.  A.  hut  there  is  provision  for  shelving  from 
350  to  500  or  600  volumes  in  these  buildings  and  also  some  read- 
ing room  space.  ‘‘Quiet  rooms”  are  provided,  and  also  two  large 


25 


A.  L.  A.  WAR  SERVICE 


class  rooms  that  can  be  converted  into  four  smaller  rooms  and 
made  available  for  the  use  of  soldiers  for  reading  and  study. 
To  each  building  are  attached  four  or  five  secretaries,  one  of 
whom  has  special  charge  of  the  educational  work,  including  the 
supervision  of  the  library  for  which  men  in  the  camp,  familiar 
with  library  work,  are  sometimes  found. 

Until  the  A.  L.  A.  buildings  became  available  the  books  re- 
sulting from  gift  were  generally  handed  over  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A., 
the  K.  of  C.,  and  other  agencies,  yet  they  form  part  of  the  col- 
lection for  which  the  A.  L.  A.  is  responsible  and  for  the  supply 
of  which  it  should  have  credit.  Despite  the  fact  that  the  book 
plates  show  the  source,  their  service  is  popularly  credited  to 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A. — a natural  result  of  the  cooperation.  When  a 
quarantine  was  declared  at  Camp  Beauregard  and  the  Camp 
Library  had  to  cease  its  activities  and  the  circulation  of  books 
was  temporarily  stopped,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  distributed  many 
thousands  of  camp  library  magazines  among  the  infected  troops. 

The  camp  libraries  have  been  called  upon  to  furnish  books  for 
the  Knights  of  Columbus  buildings,  and  to  the  various  army 
chaplains,  one  of  whom  planned  to  have  a reading  tent.  Other 
chaplains  expect  to  have  shelves  in  the  officers’  mess-hall. 

While  the  Red  Cross  distributed  some  books  with  the  soldiers’ 
kits,  it  does  not  maintain  libraries  or  lending  collections.  Such 
library  service  as  it  does  in  Great  Britain  is  limited  to  the  men 
in  the  military  hospitals. 

To  help  win  the  war,  and  to  help  in  the  great  work  of  re- 
construction after  the  war,  are  the  two  great  objects  of  all  these 
affiliated  organizations.  The  camp  libraries  contribute  their  share 
to  both  these  ends.  They  help  to  keep  the  man  more  fit  physi- 
cally, mentally  and  spiritually,  and  prepare  such  as  shall  be 
spared  for  greater  usefulness  after  the  war.  Good  reading  has 
helped  to  keep  many  a soldier  up  to  his  highest  level;  it  has 
aided  in  the  recovery  of  many  a wounded  man.  It  has  helped 
to  keep  him  cheerful,  and  to  send  him  back  to  the  firing  line  with 
renewed  determination  to  win  or  die  bravely  in  the  attempt. 


26 


The  Work  Overseas 


We  have  many  concrete  illustrations  of  the  need  and  urgent 
call  for  books  by  the  men  at  the  Front.  I have  printed  else- 
where a variety  of  anecdotes  and  extracts  from  letters  showing 
what  reading  has  meant  to  men  in  the  camps,  trenches  and 
hospitals.*  Let  me  add  a few  here. 

Clive  Holland  writes  that  British  soldiers  returning  home  have 
said  that  but  for  the  solace  of  reading  they  would  indeed  have 
been  badly  off  for  recreation  and  amusement  in  the  gloomy  dug- 
outs,  in  the  trenches,  and  the  huts  which  afforded  them  some  sort 
of  shelter.  There,  often  by  the  light  of  a candle  stuck  in  a 
bottle,  or  upon  a piece  of  wood  with  a nail  driven  through  it, 
the  war  is  happily  driven  from  the  mind  by  the  “magic  carpet” 
of  some  book  of  travel  or  romance. 

The  day  after  a great  advance,  one  soldier  wrote:  “On  such  a 
day  as  this,  one  wishes  to  read  well-expressed  words  which  deal 
with  eternal  things.” 

The  published  letters  of  the  late  Arthur  George  Heath,  fellow 
of  New  College,  Oxford,  and  lieutenant  in  the  Royal  West  Kent 
Regiment,  show  that  there  was  a good  deal  of  the  bookworm 
about  him,  as  he  himself  recognized.  He  writes  from  France 
that  he  is  quite  comfortable,  but  would  really  like  a little  litera- 
ture. “If  we  are  in  for  trench  work,  it  will  come  in  handy,” 
says  he.  “I  would  like  Belloc’s  ‘General  Sketch  of  the  European 
War,’  and,  if  you  would  not  mind  my  being  so  luxurious,  the 
Oxford  ‘Book  of  English  Verse’  in  as  small  a size  as  you  can  get 
it.  * * * I’ve  found  time  here  to  read  quite  a lot  of  novels, 

mostly  very  bad  ones.  I wonder  if  Turgenev  would  be  good  for 
the  trenches?  * * * Don’t  suggest  that  I should  read  ‘War 

and  Peace.’  If  one  makes  ambitious  plans  like  that,  one  certainly 
gets  killed  in  the  midst  of  them.  * * * 

“I  have  ploughed  through  Buchan’s  ‘History  of  the  War,’ — six 
volumes,  and  no  end  of  names  you  cannot  remember ! This  will 
give  you  an  idea  of  the  leisure  we  get  here  [in  reserve]  compared 

*See  the  Library  Journal,  July,  August  and  October,  1917. 


27 


A.  L.  A.  WAR  SERVICE 


with  what  was,  and,  perhaps,  with  what  will  be.  The  Oxford 
Book  of  Verse  has  been  such  a pleasure  in  the  trenches.  I don’t 
get  time  there  to  read  anything  long,  and  a little  poem  now  and 
then  warms  the  vitals,  as  the  old  lady  said  of  her  gin  and  water.” 

In  a letter  written  by  Harold  Chapin,  the  dramatist,  to  his 
mother  and  found  in  his  pocketbook  after  his  death,  occurs  this 
paragraph: 

‘ Books — yes,  I want  a pocket  Browning  with  everything  in  it! 
Is  such  a thing  to  be  had,  I wonder?  Of  course,  I’ve  got  sizable 
pockets.  Still  it’s  a tall  order.  Anyway,  I want  ‘Paracelsus’ 
and  ‘Men  and  Women’  particularly.” 

In  an  earlier  letter  to  his  wife  he  had  asked  for  “The  Revenge” 
and  King  Henry’s  speeches — “the  one  about  England  and  the 
one  beginning  ‘Upon  the  King’  and  the  charioteer’s  speech  from 
Euripides  in  Gilbert  Murray’s  translation.  Oh  Lord,  what  is 
the  play?  I suppose  I must  do  without  it.  Send  the  others 
at  once  though.  This  is  really  important.” 

A British  soldier  was  displaying  a copy  of  a novel  by  Anthony 
Trollope  with  a hole  the  size  of  a lead  pencil  four-fifths  of  the 
way  through  it.  “This  saved  my  life,”  he  said  fondly.  “That 
hole  is  a German  Mauser  bullet-hole.  When  I received  the  book 
and  commenced  reading  it,  I wrote  home:  ‘Thanks  for  the  novel 
by  Trollope.  It’s  a bit  hard  reading  and  plenty  of  it.’  Luckily 
for  me  there  was.” 

Some  British  soldiers  stationed  in  Flanders  became  interested 
in  gardening.  Someone  mentioned  that  there  was  a book  called 
“Mrs.  Wiggs  of  the  Cabbage  Patch”  and  one  of  the  enthusiastic 
soldiers  was  asked  to  write  home  for  it.  “It  must  have  something 
about  other  things  than  cabbage  in  it,”  said  one  of  the  company, 
who  had  visions  of  a book  with  timely  hints  for  timely  crops. 
When  the  book  came  it  was  a disappointment  in  one  way,  but  all 
the  men  enjoyed  reading  it  and  the  mere  title  became  a standing 
joke. 

Books  will  be  sent  to  our  troops  in  France  by  the  American 
Library  Association,  and  its  representatives  will  be  there  to  see 
that  the  books  reach  their  destination.  After  the  books  have 


28 


A scene  from  every-day  life  at  Camp  Meade 


STUDENTS  IN  KHAKI 


BOOKS  FOR  PRISONERS  OF  WAR 


arrived,  their  use  will  be  directed  by  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  the  Knights 
of  Columbus  and  the  Red  Cross,  for  the  A.  L.  A.  does  not  feel 
justified  in  erecting  buildings  in  France  and  incurring  the  ex- 
pense of  a special  overseas  library  staff.  The  same  amount  of 
money  spent  on  books  will  go  farther  to  meet  the  needs  of  our 
men. 

Foreign  universities  are  proposing  to  offer  courses  for  injured 
soldiers,  and  doubtless  the  A.  L.  A.  overseas  book  service  will  be 
of  value  to  such  of  our  men  as  remain  there  for  study. 


Books  for  Prisoners  of  War 

“One  of  the  greatest  miseries  of  prison  life,  and  one  of  the 
most  demoralizing  aspects  of  it,”  says  Professor  Gilbert  Murray, 
“is  the  aimlessness  and  emptiness  of  existence  from  day  to  day. 
The  reports  which  I have  heard  both  from  escaped  prisoners 
and  from  those  who  have  visited  the  prison  camps  have  almost 
always  the  same  burden:  the  men  who  fill  their  days  with  some 
purposeful  occupation  come  through  safely;  the  men  who  cannot 
do  so,  in  one  way  or  another,  break  or  fail.  The  occupation  must 
be  purposeful;  it  must  not  merely  while  away  the  time,  like 
playing  cards  or  walking  up  and  down  a prison  yard;  it  must 
have  in  it  some  element  of  hope,  of  progress,  of  preparation  for 
the  future.  A man  who  works  at  learning  a foreign  language  in 
order  to  talk  to  a fellow-prisoner  is  saved  from  the  worst  dangers 
of  prison  life:  an  electrician  who  goes  on  studying  electricity  is 
saved;  a student  who  sets  himself  to  pass  his  examinations,  an 
artisan  who  works  to  better  himself  in  his  trade,  an  artist  who 
works  on  his  drawing  or  painting,  a teacher  who  works  at  the 
further  mastering  of  his  subject — all  these  are  protected  against 
the  infectious  poison  of  their  captivity.” 

Rear-Admiral  Parry,  of  the  British  Navy,  says  that  large 
numbers  of  prisoners  of  war  have  been  saved  from  serious  mental 
deterioration  by  having  access  to  interesting  works  on  nautical 
astronomy,  navigation,  seamanship,  and  allied  subjects  in  which 
they  are  specially  interested. 


29 


A.  L.  A.  WAR  SERVICE 


Professor  Sir  Henry  Jones  of  Glasgow  University  writes  that 
his  son,  who  was  interned  at  Yozgad,  in  Asiatic  Turkey,  since 
the  fall  of  Kut-el-Amarah,  was  trying  to  make  the  best  of  his 
condition  by  writing  songs,  an  amateur  drama,  and  a juvenile 
book,  in  collaboration  with  another  officer.  The  arrival  of  some 
law  books  sent  from  the  headquarters  of  the  British  Prisoners 
of  War  Book  Scheme  (Educational)  helped  him  to  continue  his 
preparation  for  the  English  Bar. 

A teacher  in  the  Italian  section  of  the  prison  camp  school  at 
Ruhleben  is  of  the  opinion  that  more  Italian  is  being  studied 
there  than  at  the  Universities  of  London,  Oxford  and  Cambridge 
in  normal  times. 

A British  company  sergeant-major,  imprisoned  at  Minden,  was 
furnished  with  a Russian  grammar  and  dictionary  and  reports 
that  he  can  now  read,  write  and  speak  Russian  fairly  well.  He 
mentions  various  books  which  might  prove  helpful  to  him,  but  is 
quite  content  to  leave  the  selection  to  those  at  the  headquarters  of 
the  British  Prisoners  of  War  Book  Scheme. 

In  the  event  of  some  of  our  own  boys  falling  into  the  hands 
of  the  enemy  the  A.  L.  A.  War  Service  wants  to  be  prepared  to 
supply  the  books  which  will  save  them  from  the  slow  demoraliza- 
tion of  prison  life. 


Books  Needed  in  Military  Hospitals 

In  the  shell  shock  ward  of  a huge  military  hospital  outside  of 
London,  I came  across  a young  fellow  doing  a bit  of  wood  carv- 
ing. There  was  a look  in  his  face  which  invited  a chat.  Pausing 
beside  him  I asked,  “How  long  have  you  been  here?’’ 

“Oh-h,  a-about  a-a  y-year,”  he  stuttered.  “W-when  I c-came, 
I c-couldn’t  t-talk  at  all.  N-now  I c-can  t-talk  p-pretty  w-well.” 

“Indeed  you  can,”  said  I with  cheerful  mendacity.  “Tell  me, 
are  you  married?” 

“N-no,”  said  he.  “I  w-was  g-going  b-back  to  Da-akota  t-to 
m-marry  a g-girl  t-there,  b-but  a N-norwegian  c-cut  m-me  out.” 


30 


BOOKS  NEEDED  IN  MILITARY  HOSPITALS 


“That  was  too  bad,”  I sympathized,  “but  you  must  remember 
that  every  cloud  has  its  silver  lining.” 

“O-hh,”  he  replied  with  the  utmost  serenity,  “I  d-don’t  mind. 
I t-think  h-he  d-did  m-me  a jolly  good  t-turn!” 

My  attention  was  arrested  a few  minutes  later  by  a young 
man,  the  very  personification  of  gloom,  who  held  his  head  in  both 
hands  and  stared  at  the  floor.  After  a little  hesitation  I went 
up  to  him  and  offered  him  a smoke.  There  was  a slight  flicker 
of  animation  as  he  accepted  it.  “How  long  have  you  been  here?” 
I inquired. 

“I  don’t  know,”  he  replied  listlessly. 

With  the  hope  of  penetrating  his  apathy  I ventured  further, 
“What  is  the  last  thing  you  remember  before  you  came  here?” 
His  face  lighted  up  instantly  and  he  gave  me  an  interesting  and 
graphic  account  of  the  advance  in  which  he  was  knocked  out. 

As  I listened  I wondered  if  his  were  not  the  kind  of  case  which 
would  respond  to  the  cheering  influence  of  good  illustrated  maga- 
zines. Books  that  take  the  mind  off  the  war  are  frequently  pre- 
scribed by  the  physicians,  and  selected  reading  of  a crisp  bright 
variety  should  prove  helpful. 

To  these  poor  broken  lads  some  author  may  be  able  to  say: 

You  will  hardly  know  who  I am,  or  what  I mean; 

But  I will  be  health  to  you  nevertheless 

And  filter  and  fiber  your  blood. 

A badly  wounded  man  in  a large  base  hospital  in  France  on 
hearing  of  the  visit  of  a woman  whose  novel  he  had  read  in  a 
popular  English  magazine,  asked  the  favor  of  a chat  with  her. 
“I  don’t  think  I’m  likely  to  pull  through  this  bout,  ma’am,”  said 
he.  “I’ve  had  two  turns  before  in  hospital — but  I’d  like  to  thank 
you  for  writing  that  jolly  yarn.  It’s  cheered  me  up  a bit  and 
shown  me  that  there’s  some  good  in  suffering.” 

Cheerful  endings  are  desirable  in  fiction  for  the  wounded.  A 
British  nurse  tells  of  a serial  story  that  had  been  read  by  two  of 
her  patients,  one  of  whom  was  depressed  for  a whole  day  because 


31 


A.  L.  A.  WAR  SERVICE 


the  heroine  died.  “I  wish,  Sister,  I had  never  read  it,”  he  ex- 
claimed. ‘‘I  got  to  like  that  girl  and  if  I could  have  found  one 
something  the  same  when  I got  out  and  about  again,  I should 
have  married  her — if  she  would  have  had  me.” 

In  Montreal’s  Military  Convalescent  Home,  there  is  a quiet 
little  room  where  the  returned  soldiers  love  to  congregate.  Maga- 
zines are  scattered  on  its  center  table  and  books  of  every  sort 
are  on  its  shelves.  In  comfortable  easy  chairs  the  men  sit  reading 
or  writing.  The  room  is  maintained  by  the  McGill  Alumnae 
Society.  The  books  on  its  shelves  are  all  too  few  to  satisfy  the 
hourly  demands  made  upon  them.  Old  and  new  favorites  vie 
with  each  other  in  popularity.  Ivanhoe,  Waverly,  The  New- 
comes  and  Oliver  Twist  have  become  dog-eared  to  an  almost 
pathetic  degree  of  shabbiness.  One  irreproachably  kilted  Scot 
was  keenly  disappointed  that  “some  wee  poems  o’  Bobbie  Burns” 
were  not  forthcoming. 

The  great  demand  for  every  sort  of  technical  books,  especially 
on  mechanics,  engineering,  navigation,  architecture,  aviation  and 
astronomy,  often  taxes  the  library’s  resources  beyond  its  limit. 
The  convalescent  soldiers  who  are  under  training  in  the  voca- 
tional schools  show  a great  desire  to  supplement  their  text  books 
by  further  reading. 

Books  are  also  distributed  in  the  wards  at  Grey  Nunnery, 
Montreal,  to  patients  confined  to  their  beds.  One  poor  fellow, 
brought  over  on  a hospital  ship  from  England,  had  started  while 
on  shipboard  a lurid  tale  of  adventure.  The  desire  to  know  how 
it  ended  so  tormented  him  that  his  general  feverish  state  was 
greatly  augmented.  The  Montreal  bookshops  were  scoured  in 
vain.  It  was  found  necessary  to  send  to  New  York  for  the  book. 
It  cheered  him  greatly  to  know  that  the  book  was  at  last  on  its 
way.  But  he  died  the  morning  the  book  was  received. 

A discharged  Russian  soldier  brought  to  a librarian  a torn 
and  battered  Russian  magazine.  “They  gave  it  to  me  at  the 
Grey  Nunnery,”  he  said,  “and  I was  so  glad  to  get  something 
written  in  Russian  that  I want  to  leave  it  here  for  some  other 
Russian  fellow.” 


32 


Delivery  desk,  showing  charging  and  return  counters 


Information  desk  with  mailing  facilities 


BOOKS  NEEDED  IN  MILITARY  HOSPITALS 


“My  first  Sunday  in  camp  was  spent  at  the  Base  Hospital,” 
writes  the  librarian  at  Camp  Upton.  “We  received  from  Major 
Whitham  permission  to  distribute  books  in  the  wards  and  in  the 
barracks  of  the  men  in  hospital  service.  This  involved  the  carry- 
ing of  the  books  for  a distance  of  about  three  blocks,  over  lumber 
piles  and  rough  ground.  We  made  a stretcher-box  by  nailing 
two  long  handlepieces  to  the  sides  of  a packing  box.  On  enter- 
ing a ward  we  were  generally  mistaken  for  ambulance  men  with 
a new  ‘case.’  But  when  the  ward  master  would  call  out  that 
we  had  books  free  for  the  use  of  all  who  wished  them,  there 
followed  a general  stampede  of  bathrobed  men  in  our  direction. 
Our  wares  proved  popular  as  the  men  were  anxious  for  some- 
thing to  read.  WTe  expect  to  establish  an  exchange  station  at 
the  hospital  post  when  completed.” 

Mrs.  Alice  Hegan  Rice,  who  heads  one  of  the  library  com- 
mittees at  Camp  Zachary  Taylor,  made  a request  for  books  for 
the  base  hospital  there  which  met  with  a generous  response. 
The  books  were  well  selected.  “We  carried  them  in  baskets  from 
bed  to  bed,  letting  the  men  select  what  they  liked,”  wrote  Mrs. 
Rice.  “I  wish  you  could  have  seen  the  eagerness  with  which  they 
were  received.  When  we  left  only  five  books  remained  on  the 
table  and  the  two  wards  presented  a picture  that  would  have 
amused  you.  Every  soldier  who  was  able  to  sit  up  was  absorbed 
in  his  particular  volume.” 

As  we  all  know,  our  own  boys  are  not  going  to  be  immune  from 
wounds  and  shell  shock,  trench  feet,  and  fever.  If  you  wish  to 
help  them  in  their  weary  hospital  days  and  in  their  convalescence 
you  can  reach  them  best  through  the  medium  of  some  good  book. 
Look  over  your  bookshelves;  pick  out  such  volumes  as  you  think 
would  interest  the  boy  you  know  the  best — books  with  good  red 
blood  in  them — and  send  them  to  the  nearest  public  library.  The 
librarian  will  be  glad  to  see  that  they  are  started  on  their  way, 
and  you  will  also  be  glad  for  having  done  your  bit.  Do  it  now. 

Anticipating  the  inevitable  needs  of  the  near  future  the  Me- 
chanical Department  of  the  Erie  Railroad  has  designed  and 
standardized  a special  hospital  car.  The  comfort  of  the  wounded 


33 


A.  L.  A.  WAR  SERVICE 


men  when  travelling  over  this  line  is  assured.  We  shall  hope  to 
cooperate  in  supplying  desirable  books  for  the  men  and  the  nurses. 

Give  a Book 

The  War  Service  administration  hopes  that  for  every  book 
purchased,  at  least  five  will  be  presented  to  the  libraries.  It  has 
been  done  in  England ; it  can  be  done  here. 

Mobilize  your  idle  books. 

Give  the  book  you  prize  the  most;  not  the  one  you  care  for  least. 

Give  your  favorite  author;  the  novel  that  interested  you  last 
summer ; the  volume  of  poems  with  a meaning  and  message 
for  you. 

Give  the  book  that  causes  a pang  at  parting,  like  saying  good- 
bye to  an  old  friend.  Ten  chances  to  one  it  will  mean  more  to 
some  soldier  boy. 

Give  the  book  that  is  still  alive  but  which  you  and  your  family 
have  outgrown.  It  is  the  one  which  should  be  passed  on  to  the 
Camp  Libraries. 

Give  your  latest  war  book ; you  will  probably  not  read  it  again. 
The  boy  in  khaki  is  waiting  for  it.  Reading  it  will  prepare  him 
for  conditions  “over  there.” 

Give  books  on  technical  subjects;  there  is  an  insistent  call  for 
works  on  aeroplanes,  automobiles,  gas  engines  and  engineering 
topics  generally.  Don’t  think  that  the  boys  are  interested  only 
in  fiction. 

Write  your  name  and  a message  on  the  fly  leaf;  it  will  make 
the  bond  seem  closer. 

Remember  that  he  gives  twice  who  gives  quickly.  But  don’t 
give  thoughtlessly.  We  are  judged  by  what  we  give. 


34 


Arms  and  the  Man 


Men,  with  War’s  challenge  before  you. 

You  who  must  win  in  the  fight. 

You  who  shall  bring  the  glad  morning 
After  War’s  terrible  night; 

Here  find  the  way  and  the  wisdom 
To  match  and  to  master  the  Hun, 

Translating  the  book  and  its  message 
Into  the  speech  of  the  gun. 

Here  find  the  counsel  to  stay  you 
Down  through  the  riot  and  ruck, 

Here  find  the  zeal  that  shall  lift  you 
Out  of  the  mire  and  muck. 

Here  are  the  words  of  your  seniors. 

Your  masterly  skill  to  increase. 

And  type’s  many  tongues  to  direct  you 
On  toward  the  daybreak  of  peace. 

From  a poem  read  by  Mr.  Nixon  Waterman  at  the  dedication  of 
the  A.  L.  A.  Library  at  Camp  Johnston,  Florida. 


35 


PROPERTY  OF  THE 
Libraries 

FOR 

U.S.  Soldiers 
and  Sailors 

provided  by  the 

American  Library  Association 
New  England  Division 


HANDLE 

CAREFULLY 


RETURN 

PROMPTLY 


GIVE  THE  NEXT  MAN  A CHANCE 


/*£;D.‘OXKD. 


A SPECIAL  BOOKPLATE 


BOOKS  IN  THE  TRENCHES 


FROM  THE  UBKAEY 


established 

and 


(%is  Book  is  the  Gift 


s f 


